My friend Juliana posted this on Facebook a few months ago. I love the idea of living minimally, but in practice, it’s sure hard to let go of things. If I wanted to jump right in, my closet seemed the perfect place to start.

According to the closet size in my 110-year-old+ home, people the late 19th Century kept their wardrobes limited. I suppose without H&M, Gap, Forever 21 (aka Forever 29) and Madewell, my closet would be pretty empty, too. Alas, over the past 31 years, I’ve accumulated loads of crap. There’s the crap I wear all of the time, crap that I intend to wear someday, crap that I used to wear but don’t anymore, and then plain ol’ crappity-crap.

When I switched from summer clothes to winter clothes (a must if your closet is smaller than your 8th grade locker), I vowed to purge some of my crap. My goal was straightforward: select 50 pieces of crap and bring them to Goodwill.

I started with workout and bummin around crap, then on to t-shirts and tanks. Sweaters and sweatshirts came next, then a quick buzz through old swimsuits, mismatched socks and underwear. The last three ended up in the trash, not at Goodwill (I’m not that sick an individual). With little effort, my pile had 62 things in it.

What the hell. I decided to shoot for 100 pieces of crap.

Round two required more hemming and hawing. I like how big and comfy this sweater is, but it makes me look preggers and it is pretty itchy. Goodwill pile! Dress from wedding that didn’t photograph well… plus, I associate the frock with the worst hangover of my life and thus never wanted to wear said dress again (please tell me I am not the only one with clothes in that category)? Goodwill. Sweatpants so old that they’re permanently baggy in the knees, covered in pills and make my Beyonce recoil in disgust? I actually like those. Keep pile!

Eventually, my giveaway bag consisted of 108 items of crap. I was on the fence about quite a few things (especially the stuff that’s nice, but I just never wore), but I dropped them off at the G-dubs two weeks ago and now couldn’t even tell you what I’m missing. My closet and dresser feel airy and bright! I love it.